To Live Again
by DarkTaoAngel
Summary: Summery: Continuation of my first fic, I Still Love You. Pirika is still crying about Ren and Horo's deaths. It seems as if all hope is lost, until someone special comes to comfort her. But what happened before that? Please R&R, my second fic.
1. Three Days Later

DarkTaoAngel: I don't own Shaman King, sadly. This story is a continuation of my other story, "I Still Love You." Please R&R, because it's only my second fic. Thanks!

He had been gone for almost than a week now, and she still hadn't stopped crying for him. First her brother, now her boyfriend was gone, too. _Why is the whole world out to get me? _She thought as she solitarily stared out of the foggy window pane in her room. She had hardly left that spot, she felt no need to. She thought that if she left, someone else that she loved might leave her. She had felt sad and alone these past three days. Not because no one was there for her, but because she didn't want to see anyone, so she told them to go away if they tried to help her.

"Pirika," someone familiar called from down the stairs. She knew it was Yoh, because he was letting her stay at his house until she recovered, even though he knew it would take some time.

She completely ignored his calls for her, regardless of how rude it was. She knew he was going to try to cheer her up, but she didn't want him to. She wanted to feel the pain, the sadness, because she knew that it was her fault that Horo and Ren had felt it. If she had just stayed with them it could have been her, not them that had suffered; now they all had suffered, and she still did.

"Go away." She managed to choke out loud enough for Yoh to hear her. She could hear him walk away, listening for further instructions from her, but none came. Pirika sighed and went back to staring out of the desolate window. She just wanted to see one of them again. Even if it was only for a minute, she wanted to know that it was going to be fine, not from Yoh or Anna, but from her brother or Ren. But as the days passed, no hope came, and she slowly slipped away into the darkness of the cold, lonely nights.

She missed them dearly, she knew that the others did too, but she had known them better than anyone else had. There was a darkness in her heart, an empty space waiting to be filled back up again.

Pirika knew there was nothing more for her to do but wait, because if she was meant to find happiness, it would have to come to her. She no longer left the house, she didn't want to make anyone else's lives miserable. She kept all of her feelings bottled up inside of her, anger towards herself for not helping to prevent what had happened, sadness that they were gone, and pain because she knew that even if she had all of the hope in the world, they would never be back.

One thing that she didn't know was that all of her hope would bring her something she had needed for the past three days, something that would clear away almost all of her sadness.

DarkTaoAngel: I hope you liked this chapter! What could it be that is going to cure Pirika's broken heart? Who is going to help her now? All of that will be answered in the next chapter! Please review, even if you didn't like it, because it would like to know what to change to make my stories better!


	2. Horo's Return

DarkTaoAngel: I don't own Shaman King, but I **_do_** own the OC Mei Ashimo. Enjoy this new story, much happier ending than my first one. It really continues from my other story, 'I Still Love You', so if you haven't read that one, I suggest you do. Please review!

_He could hear voices that sounded farther away than they really were. Screams were coming from somewhere to his left, but he seemed unable to move. As he lightly opened his eyes, he could just see the fuzzy images in the distance, one big, and one much smaller. They seemed to be fighting, but his range of distance could barely reach them, so he couldn't be sure. _

_He could only see one figure now; the other one must have left. Only the largest figure remained._

_The figure looked menacing as it closed in on him; it shouted something that he couldn't distinguish. He could see a blinding orange light soar through the air to reach him. He didn't have the strength to fight back, so he got struck head on. _

_Suddenly he felt an excruciating pain, nearly blinding him, as his eyes watered from the force of the attack. _

_He was sure he could hear anguished screams in the background, but he could not make out exactly what they were saying. _

_His body was so numb that he could no longer feel the effects of the attack; all he could feel now was an emptiness in his heart, and a feeling of guilt overwhelming him. He felt weak. Soon he couldn't feel anything anymore. He knew it was up to him; he knew that he had to try and stop the figure that had hit him. He tried to stand, but he just fell back down. The last thing he heard before he fainted, was someone far off shouting his name; then he couldn't hear anything._

As he awoke, he found himself laying on a bed in the middle of a small, cramped bedroom. He could feel the warmth of the sunlight on his face as it filtered in from the window to his right. His eyes swept over the entire room, trying to find some sign that would tell him where exactly he was.

He looked around the room to see if anyone was there, but he couldn't see anyone. Then he heard a sound coming from a room next to the one he was in. He listened for more sound, but none came. When he was ready to give up and tell himself that he had just imagined the sound, someone walked quietly into his room.

It was a girl, and not just any girl. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long, stringy, pink hair, and shiny, orb-like blue eyes. She was wearing a long , flowing dress that accented her beauty even more. She was carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it.

She walked towards his bed, set down the tray, and began to walk to the door. "Wait!" he called to her, not wanting her to leave.

She paused, just feet from the doorway. "What?" she asked in response. _Even her voice is beautiful_, he thought to himself, then he remembered that she was still there, and he made up for his awkward staring by asking her the first question that came to his mind. "Who are you?"

She had probably saved his life, and he wanted to at least know her name. He still had thousands of other questions to ask her, but the most important one seemed to make him forget all of the others.

She turned around gracefully, and with a voice that sounded light like a whisper, she said, "My name is Mei Ashimo. What about yours?"

He finally stopped staring in time to say "Its…" he paused for a moment before continuing, "It's Horohoro Usui."

DarkTaoAngel: Ooh, climactic, isn't it? You all though Horo was dead, didn't you? Well I assure you that you will soon find out why he isn't gone after all. Please let me know if you liked it, and chappie #3 is going to be up soon!


	3. Lots Of Questions, Not enough Answers

DarkTaoAngel: Must I keep saying this? Fine. sigh I don't own Shaman King, but I do own this story. Please enjoy this chappie, and expect more chappies soon!

_Horohoro? _Mei was shocked at the sound of the name that she had heard only once before._ Usui?_ _But, isn't he the one that _they_ were sent to… No, it can't be… But yet, he looks just like they said that he would. _She thought this over many times, then, coming to a conclusion, a sly smirk etched over her face, which she quickly concealed so as not to give the wrong impression to Horohoro. Mei chanced one more quick glance at Horo, checking to see if he was indeed the one she had heard of. He was.

"Huh? What's wrong Mei?" Horo said with the usual idiotic, spaced-out look on his face, as though he had absolutely no idea of what was going on, because he didn't.

"Nothing's wrong, I just though you were someone else, that's all.

"Oh, Well if that's all, than I have a few questions to ask you." Horo said. "First of all, where are we?"

"We are still in Tokyo, in a small district called Akishima, not far from where I found you." Mei replied softly.

"Okay, that makes sense. Wait, found me? Found me where? And what happened to Ren and the Spirit Hunter?" said Horo, hoping that she would give him the answers that he most wanted to hear.

"Just after you had fainted I found you. There were two others there, a boy, and a large monster of some sort. I noticed that the boy was putting up a good fight, so I took you and left him fighting. Luckily I found you when I did, because the attack that put you down was fierce enough to kill. I brought you back here, treated your wounds, and waited for you to wake." Mei finished the last sentence with a flourish, and waited for Horo to ask his next question.

It took a while for Horo to fully process what she had said, but when he did, it just filled his head with even more unanswered questions. He should have started the conversation with 'who are you' but he felt like he already knew her somehow. Horo knew he had to go find his friends and tell them that he was alright, and check to see how Ren was doing after that last Spirit Hunter battle. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position, but his muscles gave way quickly. It felt like the battle had been only a minute ago. After he had gotten comfortable once again, he finally found the right question to ask Mei.

"How long have I been here?" he thought that this was it on the questioning for the moment, because all of the other questions he wanted to ask seemed less important. He figured he couldn't have been down for more than a few days, (yeah the force of the attack was that bad) but he still wanted to know for sure how long.

"Three days, almost four. You can stay here for as long as you need, but I must go and make a phone call right now. Call me if you need me, I'll be just down the hall." And with that, Mei left the room, leaving Horo to himself to think things through.

DarkTaoAngel: Not that long, but it gets better! Check back later for the next chapter, 'Mei's Phone Call'. Is she good or is she evil? And how does she know Horo? The conclusion of this story is in the planning, and all up to me! Muahahahaha!


	4. Mei's Phone Call

DarkTaoAngel: I do not own Shaman King. Please R&R this new installment, and no flames unless necessary. Antidisestablishmentarianism, that's right, I can spell it! Please Enjoy!

Horo lay there, immersed in thoughts about what Mei had just told him. He wondered how the others were doing, and where Hao's Spirit Hunters were at this moment. No one was safe from Hao anymore, but the place where Mei lived seemed unusually peaceful for a semi-war going on. He thought that it was likely that not very many people lived in Akishima, after all, he had never even heard of it before. He carefully looked out of his window, next to his bed, so that he didn't hurt himself. What he saw was a small clearing stretching around the house. Mei's house was the only house in this section of Tokyo, it didn't even look like Tokyo. There was a forest circling the house, it looked like some sort of maze of trees, with overgrown branches, and a swampy look about it.

Horo didn't think that it would take that long to get back to his friends, then again, a few more days with Mei might do him good. Besides, he wanted to repay her for saving his life somehow. And he kind of wanted to spend some time with her as well….

Mei walked fast paced to the kitchen, quickly grabbed the phone, and dialed a number she knew by heart. As the dial tone picked up speed, she heard a male voice echoing through the receiver of the phone. It was a voice she well recognized, and she said hello without the faintest trace of doubt that it was he she was speaking to.

She felt confident enough to skip addressing him, and started right in with the conversation, telling him the finer details of the previous week. She told him everything about Horo, as he listened intently from the other end, hanging on to her every word. When she had finished with her reincarnation of this story, she could hear his laughter through the phone.

"Horo, you say? The one I had told you about weeks previous to today?" The anonymous speaker announced.

"The one and only. What do you suggest I do with him?" Mei replied sweetly. She could hear the laughter much louder than before, maniacal, spine tingling laughter.

"Oh, you know very well what I want out of you, but the question is, do you really want me to have to repeat it?"

"No." She said with a slight defiance in her tone of voice. She knew what he wanted, she always knew, but she didn't want to. She never wanted to, now more than ever.

Mei knew that she couldn't deny her master's request, but something told her that it would be harder than she thought.

She hung up the phone slowly, still immersed in thought, both good and bad. As she walked past Horo's room, she looked in to see him fast asleep. This worsened the weight that was clinging to her heart. She didn't want to talk to him at the moment, so she quietly tiptoed past his room, and down to her room.

She fell down on her bed, wrapped her silken bed sheets around herself, and cried herself to sleep. She did every time this happened, but much more now. _Why does my master have to be so mean? _Mei thought to herself as she slowly drifted of into a dreamless sleep. _Why does he have to command me to do so?_ And finally she nodded off to sleep.

DarkTaoAngel: So, how was it? It really gives away the rest of the story, minus the surprise twist! Oh, and before I forget, Mei's middle name is Shaoa. That should kinda hint towards who she really is. Stay tuned for more chappies, coming as soon as I write them down!


	5. Letting Go

DarkTaoAngel: I do not own Shaman King. Please review this chappie there will probably be about 4 or 5 more to look forward to! Thanks to all of those who read my stories!

Back at the Inn, Pirika's condition was getting worse. She would lay in bed every day, and to add to that, she kept her doors locked, too. It seemed as though she would just slip away and no one would notice. Yoh and the others tried as best they could to cheer her up, to tell her that it would be alright, but they too knew better than to get their hopes up. Things at the Inn were more quiet and dark than ever. Without Ren and Horo's constant bickering, and Pirika's instant resolve, the Inn and all of its residents had lost their spunk. Whenever people came over to see Yoh or Anna, they left almost right away, due to an uncomfortable feeling when they entered.

Pirika's eyes looked as though they would never fade from red. She didn't cry anymore, she couldn't; she couldn't feel anymore, she was trapped in her own made-up nightmare, one that seemed as though it would never end.

Though the others tried to help her, but the only thing they could do was get her to eat, which she did rarely now, too.

_Why? _Pirika would constantly ask herself. _Why did they have to leave me? I should have stayed by their side. I could have helped them if I would have stayed. I know I'm not strong enough, but I could have gotten help for them. It's my fault for leaving them, it's my fault their dead. I shouldn't have yelled at Ren, it's not his fault that Horo died, and now he's dead too._

Just as Pirika's thoughts had almost subsided, something struck her, as though she were being hit sharply by something much larger than herself, only she was struck in the heart. Something had dawned on her just now, something she didn't want to know. She would never see them again. She had been moping around and praying with all that she had, to see them just one more time. She had hoped that by some odds they would come back, if only for a moment. But now, she knew; she knew that this was the end. She knew that she shouldn't spend the rest of her life searching, waiting for them to be there, even though she knew they couldn't.

Now Pirika knew that she wasn't making anyone's lives better by hurting herself, she was just making it worse. If she wanted everyone to be happy, she had to be happy, too. She couldn't do it all at once, but she knew where to start.

She walked down the steps slowly, hoping that no one would be there, or that they wouldn't speak to her. To her misfortune, Yoh and Anna were there, and so were Rio, Morty, and Tamura.

As Pirika walked past them all to sit down at the couch, they all turned a little to face her. Lucky for Pirika, none of them spoke, and they seemed to ignore her after that. They seemed to know what she wanted from them, and that was for them to act as though nothing had happened in the five days that had passed.

And so the days passed. Pirika would come to little by little, slowly recovering from the horrific scene that had happened just six days earlier. She would eat more now, and she would even come downstairs to eat; it took a while, but eventually Pirika would go outside again, too.

She still thought about them often, especially in her dreams, and what with the horrific images going through her mind, it seemed she was recovering awfully quickly. She tried to push these horrible thoughts from her mind, but they seemed to be haunting her. Sometimes she wished she were dead, just to relieve her from the nightmares; if she didn't have her friends, she probably would be dead now.

Little did she know that there was someone else who wanted her dead, too.

DarkTaoAngel: I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long to update, I was busy thinking of ideas for the next chapter, and for my next story. Review if you liked, or if you didn't, because I just want some reviews!


	6. Compicated Decisions

DarkTaoAngel: Not much to the last chapter, but it said what I wanted it to. I still don't own Shaman King, and again, please review!

Mei sat there all morning, unable to sleep, musing over what _he _had said.

"Oh, you know very well what I want out of you, but the question is, do you really want me to have to repeat it?"

Her master certainly was strict, and she knew she could do it, but she really didn't want to. He had told her on their last encounter what to do, and she was prepared.

Meanwhile, Horo was deep in thought, too. He still had so many questions to ask her, but they all seem to leave him when she is there. He knew he liked her, but she probably didn't like him. _She saved me; she probably just pities me, that's all. Although, if she does like me… no, how could someone so beautiful and obviously rich like someone like me?_ Horo thought to himself, but his thoughts were interrupted by Mei, who was walking past his room, tears slowly filling her eyes all the while.

"Mei, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Horo questioned her, hoping he could help with whatever was bothering her.

"I-it's nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I bothered you." Mei continued to cry as she started to walk away.

"Mei, wait!" Horo exclaimed with a determined expression.

"Huh?" Mei's voice was barely more than a whisper, but what could be heard was a magical sound, just like music.

"I don't know what's wrong, but if you would like to tell me, I'll listen. And even if you don't, I'll still like to try and help, if you want me to." Horo said, hoping that she would stay with him for a little while more.

Mei turned around to face him. "You would do that for me?" Now she felt worse than she did before, but it was kind of a good feeling, because now she knew that there was a small chance that he liked her like she liked him. He just smiled and nodded his head, blushing a little, but Mei was so taken aback that she didn't even notice.

She stepped cautiously into the room and sat down beside Horo. She felt slightly uncomfortable, so she looked away from him, but he reached out his hand and took hold of hers. She didn't try to stop him; actually, she grabbed his hand, too. They looked at each other for a while, not speaking, but just kind of testing each other, seeing if each was trusting.

Suddenly, as though an invisible bell was signaling them to do so, they both leaned in at the same time and kissed. It wasn't a particularly long kiss, but it seemed to be each person's way of confessing how they feel.

As they broke apart, each looked away, but admittedly, they both felt as though the weigh on their hearts had been lifted. Mei, however, had worse thoughts on her mind, like what her master would do to her after she told him, but she pushed them out of her mind for now; blissful happiness was all that she wanted to feel. Mei's master probably already knew about her and Horo, so she need not worry about telling him anyway, although she would need to eventually.

They both looked back at each other; they were blushing deep crimson. Horo wanted to tell Mei that he loved her, and Mei wanted to say that she was sorry, but they never got any words out, they just absorbed the joy of that moment, especially Mei, because she knew for a fact that it wouldn't, and couldn't, last long.

DarkTaoAngel: How was it? It was probably the most romantic chapter that I have written so far. The next chapter will be really surprising, and the faster I get reviews, the faster I write! Thanks for reading!


	7. Who Are You?

DarkTaoAngel: Hi again! Sorry, but I still don't own Shaman King… Anyway, I'll make it short this time, read, enjoy, review! Thanks to those of you that reviewed! Thanks Hope Usui, your review made my day!

"It seems as though Mei has gone soft on me. Pathetic. I thought I could trust her, but it appears I was terribly wrong. How could I let her fall in love with _him_? After all, I… no, I don't. I couldn't, not me; no, what was I thinking?" a manacle laugh filled the night air as a figure loomed in the distance, soaring above the treetops as though gravity had absolutely no effect on him.

Although this laugh was far from pleasant, it ceased almost immediately, as though not amusing the figure any longer. He sighed, gazing down upon the towns below, carefully skimming the town for the faintest sign of the house that he was looking for. When he finally found it, he came to a halt just out side of the cottage-like house in the middle of nowhere. He came around to the front, didn't bother to knock, just kicked the door open, and stepped inside without an invitation.

The figure then proceeded to search the house for something that was, after some time of looking, not there. He cursed under his breath before leaving the place to continue his search elsewhere, at the only other place he knew he could find her….

Horo had healed exceptionally well considering it had only been six days since the fight, and now he and Mei were enjoying the nice warm sun while walking through the forest that surrounded her house. They both liked each other, and they both knew it, so they felt much more comfortable with each other than before. Now they spent almost every minute together. Horo still felt guilty about not going back to tell his sister where he was and what happened, but he was having so much fun with Mei, so he decided to go back tomorrow, just so that he could have at least one more fun-filled day with her.

Horo and Mei would hold hand while strolling around the wonderful places located around her town, such as the parks, beaches, and clearings in the forest where they could see the stars. Today they were at one of the places, the forest, looking for a place to just relax, followed up by tranquil star-gazing amid the wonderful sights and sounds of nature. Nature was wonderful in Horo's opinion, but it reminded him only too much of his much missed Koroppukkur, Kororo; _only one more day_, he frequently told himself that evening, _until I get to see her and the rest of my friends again._

He sighed and looked up at the stars once again, they were barely visible through the glossy sky, but they were there. _No wonder Yoh likes to stare at the stars all of the time. It's so peaceful, not to mention relieving. I wonder what Yoh is doing right at this moment…_ Horo was about to drift of to sleep it was so peaceful out, until he heard something he really didn't want to hear again.

Shrieks were erupting all over town, just like the night when he and Ren had fought the Spirit Hunters, except no Spirit Hunters appeared out of the trees, instead something far worse did. It was Horo's worst enemy, and Yoh's twin brother whose face came out of the trees, perched as usual upon his spirit ally, the Spirit of Fire's shoulder. The face that immerged was none other than Hao, the most powerful, and deadly shaman alive, and it wasn't just him that came out, he had Horo's sister, too.

DarkTaoAngel: How's that for excitement? I have all of the people who read my stories to thank for their enthusiasm, because that is the reason that I wrote this so fast. Thank you all! And I hope that you liked this chapter!


	8. Confession and Denial

DarkTaoAngel: I don't think I could get Shaman King as my own in this short amount of time, so I still don't own it! If you are reading this, you have way too much time on your hands; just skip to the reading of the story!

**Confession**_-admitting to others that you were wrong. _

**Denial**_-not wanting to admit it to yourself._

"Pirika… Don't you dare do anything to my sister! This has nothing to do with her!" Horo shouted angrily at Hao, enraged by his sister's captor.

"Quite on the contrary, it has everything to do with her. She helped me find you, didn't she? Now I can eliminate another two of Yoh's _friends_ at one time! And the best part is that this time you don't have anyone here to help you!" A shriek from Pirika, quickly followed by more maniacal laughter from Hao. Mei shifted uncomfortably as he said this, and it was all her fault because it was she who had led him here. But now she loved Horo, and she wanted to protect him at any costs.

"Master Hao, please don't!" Mei pleaded with Hao, tears steadily leaking from her eyes and down her face. "I don't want to be responsible for another death!"

"You won't be responsible. It will be I who kills him, not you, plus you will be getting a reward for leading me to him. You've been a big help, just like with his friend, although I would have liked it done better, maybe a few more Spirit Hunters will help…" Hao's voice trailed away into pure thoughts, as he reminisced about the _good times_, as he would have put it.

"My friend? Wait, you don't mean…? Horo asked Hao, hoping that the answer wasn't what he thought it would be.

"That's right, _your friend_, the one you were supposed to be helping, but he was weak, as are you, and you will soon meet the same end as he!" Hao's booming voice disrupted the entire forest, as he continued to laugh, this time with a little more satisfaction.

"Ren… no, you can't have! Pirika, tell me the truth, tell me he's not dead!" Horo desperately tried to coax his sister into telling him what he wanted to be told. But Pirika just shook he head sadly. Hao hadn't tided her up because she seemed to not be much of a threat to him.

"I'm afraid he is. Everyone thought you were dead, too." Pirika started crying on the spot, just like Mei, who went almost unnoticed amongst the shock and depression that was going around.

"Oh, how touching, you can all go down together, now, just like your friend!" Pirika suddenly managed to pull free of Hao's grasp and ran toward Horo, hugging him as though it was there last hug, and it just might be according to Hao.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Horo! If I had been there all of this mightn't have happened. And now Ren is…" her voice suddenly got all raspy and she had to bite back the tears that were trying to flow from her eyes, then she just gave up and let them flow freely.

Hao started toward them, apparently finally finished with taunting them. He called forth the Spirit of Fire and reached out his hand, the Spirit of Fire turned into a sword which Hao used to attack them randomly, eager to get it done with. Horo called our Kororo and began blocking Hao's attacks, but to no avail. He still couldn't prevent him from attacking, so Horo couldn't get an attack in edgewise, but still the battle went on.

Almost an hour later, which is amazing because Horo didn't have that much furyoku to start with, and his was almost spent, whereas Hao still had umpteen furyoku and plenty of energy to finish Horo on the spot. Horo tried his best, but he knew he wasn't going to win. He wanted Pirika to leave but she refused.

"I left you once and see where it got you? I will not leave your side, even if it kills me." Pirika must have been either very brave or very stupid to do something like this, but she really cared about her brother, and she wouldn't desert him now.

As the battle raged on, Horo was almost out of furyoku. One more strike and he was done for, but he couldn't give up now, he would fight 'till the end, even now.

Hao launched a surprise attack that even Horo couldn't avoid. He braced himself for the impact of the strike, wishing that he could have had more time to spend with Pirika, especially because he had instead spent the time with the traitor, Mei, whom he had trusted, and she had failed him.

But just as the strike was about to hit Horo, something amazing happened, he didn't feel it. He looked toward the place where the attack was supposed to land, where he was supposed to lay dead, but instead, someone else was laying there, someone who had taken the hit for him.

DarkTaoAngel: Well, it's down to the final chapters; this one clears up a lot of questions that were left unanswered in the last chapter. I hope you keep reading, because the ending might surprise you a bit!


	9. Sacrifice of Love

DarkTaoAngel: Thanks again to all of my reviewers! I don't own Shaman King, I hope you like this chapter, and I will only have 10 chapters, so this is almost the end! I'm just as excited as you are, because I haven't written it down yet!

As Horo looked over at the body laying only a few feet away from him, he recognized it immediately, and was shock by which it was.

Mei had taken the attack from Hao, instead of letting Horo get hit. She truly had loved him as she said she did, and she knew she had done the right thing. She wasn't moving, and there was a pool of blood surrounding her, she was ghostly white, and didn't look as though she was breathing.

Tears started to well up inside of Horo's eyes. He was sad that Mei was gone only because of him, and he wished that he had been the one to receive the blow. As Horo turned around he saw that he and Pirika weren't the only ones crying anymore. Hao was kneeling beside Mei's body, a stricken look on his face. He was just as shocked as everyone else was that Mei had killed herself for Horo.

"How dare you! You killed her! You killed the only person that I loved, the only person who was ever kind to me! She needn't have died; I meant not to kill her, only you! She deserves me, not you, and I can bring her back somehow! I can insure that you two never cross paths again!"

Hao was aggrieved by his loss, apparently he was the only person that supported him, and now that she was gone he had no one, he was alone in this world, so naturally he wanted her back, but even he knew it was hopeless, she could never come back.

Hao instead of attacking Horo again, did something that no one expected, Hao himself was probably surprised that he didn't kill Horo when he had perfect opportunity to do so. He snatched up Mei's body from the ground, mounted himself on the Spirit of Fire's shoulder once again, and disappeared from the forest as quickly as he had come. Before left, though, he shouted one more thing; "I'll hunt you down and kill you one of these days Horohoro Usui! You can't win, I'll bring Mei back and we'll kill you together!" then he made his exit into the sky once more.

Horo and Pirika were left alone, knowing perfectly well that they would see Hao again, but Mei would not be with him. Horo was still sad about Mei's death, but now he had Pirika and his friends again, and he knew that Mei genuinely loved him, as he did her. But there was still one last question on his mind, what happened to Ren, and what have his friends done when he was gone?

"Pirika? I wanted to ask you—" but he was cut off be Pirika, who was crying on his shoulder, as she was able to utter two words before her voice went raspy all over again; "He's gone."

"What do you mean Pirika? You don't mean that what Hao said about Ren was true, do you?" Pirika merely nodded in answer, sobbing more uncontrollably now.

Horo was shocked more now by his sister's answer. _So it was true? Ren did die because of me. And I made Pirika cry because I wasn't there for her. But I'm here now, and I won't leave her ever again. I want her to be happy, and I hope she can be happier now that I am here again, even if Ren isn't. Hao won't get away with it again, and as for Mei alerting him to me and Ren, its Hao we're talking about, he wouldn't let her refuse him. But I wonder if he really loved her, it certainly seemed like it. _

It was then that Horo realized it. Hao has feelings to. Horo had to stop feeling like he was the only one who was hurting. He looked over at Pirika who was staring at him with a worried expression on her face, as though he could leave her at any moment.

Horo smiled, which greatly surprised Pirika, and said, "It's all over, it's going to be alright now. I know you are sad, and I am too, but your crying won't help bring any of them back. From now on I'll be there for you, so that you won't have anything to cry about anymore." and together they walked back to town were they would get a ride back to the Inn and tell everyone what Horo had just told Pirika.

DarkTaoAngel: Hi, again! I hope this chapter makes you think a lot, because that is what it was intended to do. This might be my last chapter, or I might make an epilogue, it depends on if I can think of anything to write!


	10. A New Begining for the End

DarkTaoAngel: Last chappie, yay! I hope you all read and liked my previous one, and sadly every story must come to an end. So this is the end of this story, which will not be continued, unless I bring Hao back in a different story…. Thanks for reviewing if you did, and if you didn't, please do! By the way, I don't own Shaman King.

As Pirika and Horo neared the Inn, an extremely familiar voice rang out before them. It was Yoh, who was running toward them with the usual smile on his face.

"Pirika! And Horo, I though you were a goner! Where have you two been?" Yoh adapted a bemused look as he stared at them. They both had scratches, and Horo had blood on his clothes and rips in his shirt.

Pirika and Horo exchanged looks, mentally wondering how much they should tell him, before Horo said, "It's complicated, but we're both okay, and Hao is gone for now." Horo thought this was enough information for now, because he didn't really want to mention Mei.

"Hao? You met him? Did you fight? How'd it go?" Yoh got overly excited at the mention of his not-so-good brother. Leave it to Yoh to completely space out on the subject of where Horo was for the past week.

"It went… fine. We won. Hao left, he'll be back, but we'll be ready." Horo managed to say these last words before nearly collapsing on the spot. The fight with Hao hadn't been that long ago, and Horo was still feeling the effects of the attacks. Pirika allowed him to rest on her shoulder for support as they walked back to the Inn together.

Horo and Pirika were to stay at Yoh's house until Horo recovered, but they had to work for it, courtesy of Anna, who never gave anything for free. She, unlike Yoh, wanted to know everything that had happened, not just the overall recount of the tale. Though she demanded every day, she rarely got a solid truth, excuses wouldn't cut it, and so she kept asking.

Horo and Pirika were swamped with questions every time anyone came to visit, which was almost every day, and whatever they said seemed to never be enough for the questioners. Horo was getting fed up, so he was ready to tell the next person who asked the truth.

It so happened that hardly a day after this thought had come to mind, Yoh asked him yet again, but this time someone accompanied him, it was a very frustrated Anna, and if looks could kill, Horo would have died days ago.

Horo stayed true to his promise to himself by recalling every event, which took quite a long time, and even included the story about Mei, even though it struck a particularly painful memory in him every time that her name was mentioned, so hard for him that he eventually had to call Pirika in to explain for him. As they talked, both Pirika and Horo, the memories seemed so vivid through words, as though they were happening as they continued to talk.

Finally their story recount had come to an end, leaving a bewildered Yoh, and an unusually sentimental Anna, in their wake. They seemed not to know what was the appropriate thing to say at the moment, so they stayed silent, just as they had during the explanation.

Yoh felt sorry for Horo because he had lost his girlfriend, and for Pirika because she had lost her boyfriend, and all in the same painful week. Horo and Pirika both knew that they felt sorry for them, and they didn't want them to.

"You need not take pity on us. What is done is done, no one can change it. Someone wise once told me that you can't make anyone happy by feeling sorry for yourself, crying can't bring anyone back to life; it will only make everyone more miserable than they already are. I know, I miss him, too." Pirika stated, trying to suppress the tears that were failing to stay hidden.

"What kind of person would say something as depressing as that?" Horo said, bringing down the entire mood in the room, which immediately changed as Pirika started to shout.

"You did, you idiot! Some wise person you are now; it was supposed to be a compliment!" Pirika was back to normal, and apparently an out of breath Horo who was running for his life was back to normal, too.

Yoh and Anna exchanged glances, but Yoh looked away as Anna gave him a death glare. Yoh and Anna were lucky to have each other, even though they rarely showed it. In the spirit of the moment, or maybe because of the satisfaction that it gave her, Anna decided to triple Yoh's training. She said it was to 'better his strength incase Hao came back to fight him', but he knew that it was just so she could torture him from the sidelines. None the less he went to work, Horo by his side, as Pirika had probably joined forces with Anna to train the boys.

Everyone's lives went back to normal, or as normal it could get, and everything about that eventful week seemed forgotten. No one forgot though, it still haunted their dreams at night, or in the dark passageways throughout the town, but they tried to take Horo's _wise words_ to heart and stop feeling sorry for themselves.

Though the ones they loved were gone, they all knew that they would always be together, not just spiritually, but mentally, in memory and in heart. Sad as though the following days were, everyone had each other, and they knew that was the only way to defeat Hao and bring their loved ones back, by becoming the Shaman King. And even if that didn't work, they knew that Ren and Mei would remember them, too, as they smiled from somewhere in heaven.

DarkTaoAngel: Longest chapter, and saddest, but this is the end. I might do another story about Hao that stems from this one by request, but other than that, this is it. I hope you all liked it, and I hope it made you cry because that was my goal when I wrote it. Please review if you liked it!


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